The tiny neighbourhood of Alexandra Park, next door to Chinatown, south of Kensington Market and north of the Fashion District, is noticeably split into two very distinct areas. Part of the neighbourhood is filled with pretty rowhouses, townhouses and detached houses, owned by their occupants who are often families or empty-nester couples. The other is a subsidized housing project that in recent years has been undergoing a serious redevelopment to add several housing units in condo buildings, plus subsidized townhouses.

Who Lives Here

Many families who live in Alexandra Park have been around for decades; maybe even generations. It's a popular place for families with children and plenty of residents are low-income families who reside in the low-rent apartment buildings.

Perfect for…

Students as well as young families with children who want to be close to downtown but live in comfortable, suburban-like setting, without the high prices.

Not-so-perfect for…

The super-rich who won't like living next door to subsidized housing.

Life and Style

Alexandra Park is a pretty normal inner-city neighbourhood, with one park which gives the community its name, a bunch of high-rise apartment buildings and streets upon streets of townhouses and rowhouses. Families who live in Alexandra Park spend their free time at the wading pool, in Chinatown or strolling through Kensington Market just to the north. Some have complained that at night, Alexandra Park's quiet streets become prime locations for crime, mainly near the subsidized housing areas.

Housing Market

Renting in Alexandra Park is far less expensive than some of Toronto's ritzier downtown neighbourhoods. Much of the area with the detached houses and townhouses is owner-occupied, but the rest of the community has a fair few apartment buildings with relatively low rents that cater to lower-income families.

Avg. rent by housing type and size

Typical housing type

Victorian rowhouses and townhouses, and apartment buildings

Neighbourhood

The only school within the actual boundaries of Alexandra Park is Ryerson Community School, an elementary school that gets a 5/10 ranking by the Fraser Institute. There are several other elementary schools in the surrounding neighbourhoods, though, that rank better in tests. There's one park in the community, which has a skating rink, wading pool and tennis courts, plus a small skate park and a community centre. Food is plentiful in Chinatown, which is focused in Alexandra Park's northeastern corner.